2015

Maryland Institute College of Art’s (MICA) Exhibition Development Seminar (EDS) students present "HAND/MADE," an art show juxtaposing an original 19th-century marble sculpture by artist and former MICA student William Henry Rinehart with 12 3-D, performance and video works by contemporary sculptors and interdisciplinary artists. Exhibited in MICA’s Fox Building: Decker Gallery (1303 W. Mount Royal Ave.) from Friday, Jan. 30–Sunday, March 15, "HAND/MADE" makes vital connections between traditional methods employed by artists working with 19th-century studio artisan teams and collaborative practices in contemporary studios. A reception will take place Friday, Feb. 6, 5–8 p.m. “'HAND/MADE' explores how sculptures are seldom the result of a simple transaction between a single artist, an idea and a given medium,” said EDS co-curator and class spokesperson Adenike Adelekan ’15 (art history, theory, and criticism). “The methods and practices that are sometimes used when creating a sculpture can involve multiple people beyond the artist. This can cause tension regarding the complex issue of authorship. Our exhibition aims to investigate this on-going discussion.” The EDS class will show existing and newly commissioned works from six contemporary artists, all with ties to MICA. Fiber faculty member Annet Couwenberg, Nancy Daly ’11 (Photographic & Electronic Media), Director of the Rinehart School of Sculpture Maren Hassinger, Richard Vosseller ’95 (general fine arts) and Megan Van Wagoner ’00 (Mount Royal School of Art) are creating works that respond to Rinehart’s most reproduced sculpture, Sleeping Children. Each artist has been asked to reflect on the relationship between individual creative expression and artistic collaboration—and what it means when others’ labor is required to realize an artwork. MICA’s own "Sleeping Children" will be displayed alongside the five commissioned pieces, allowing the audience to draw connections from the past to the present. Also on display will be contemporary marble work by Sebastian Martorana ’08 (Rinehart School of Sculpture), with his tools and maquettes (or scale models) to help viewers visualize Rinehart’s sculpting process. Couwenberg utilizes 3-D printing technology to create abstract sculptures that refer to Dutch ruffled collars and traditional embroidery. Daly creates interactive sculptures that give physical existence to digital phenomena and asks viewers to consider how social media and online technologies transform the texture of their lives. Originally trained in dance, Hassinger often bridges the gaps between sculpture and performance in her work. Vosseller creates large-scale wooden sculptures that mimic the forms of collapsed buildings or falling prizefighters. Van Wagoner creates sculptures out of cast glass and aluminum that explore our relationship to factory farming and the natural world. Martorana uses traditional carving methods to transform unyielding marble into unexpected textures and forms, including cushions, bath towels and stuffed animals."HAND/MADE" at MICA will serve as a counterpart to "Rinehart's Studio: Rough Plaster to Living Marble," an exhibition on Rinehart at The Walters Art Museum (600 N. Charles St.), on view Sunday, April 12–Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015. The Walters’ Rinehart exhibition is curated by Jenny Carson, chair of MICA’s Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism, with assistance from Jo Briggs, the Walters’ assistant curator of 18th- and 19th-century art and manager of curatorial fellowships. Carson has worked closely as a mentor to the EDS class during the exhibition planning process. “Carson’s show at the Walters, which focuses on Rinehart’s studio practices, has created a solid anchor to base our show around,” said MICA EDS student project coordinator Ricki Rothchild ’17 (painting). “By using Sleeping Children as the core for 'HAND/MADE,' we’ve been able to utilize the comparison of the past and present to explore the issues of authorship in a more nuanced way.”